Rediscovering Ireland

Sir Max Hastings: Erstwhile editor of the Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard, military historian, broadcaster, writer and president of the CPRE.

For more than half a century after independence, the Irish could have been accused of abandoning prudent policies for sport and conservation in favour of an anything-goes regime. Much of the Irish rural populations wreaked sporting revenge on the erstwhile traditional landowners and many river populations of game fish were brought to the edge of extinction by zealous catch for the pot tactics.

Today, Irish understanding of the national interest has matured immensely. The country has done and is doing its utmost to restore some of its historic fisheries. There are welcome signs that the government was impressed by a 2002 report which showed that a drift net-caught salmon is worth just £14 to their economy, against £250 for a rod-caught one.

Irish fish are as vulnerable as everyone elses to the familiar pressures on Atlantic salmon, poaching not least among them. But there is some wonderfully entertaining sport to be had, amid peerless natural settings, if you catch the right water on the right day.

The Blackwater in County Cork can be magnificent almost any time between February and the end of September.

The Shannon, in the Irish midlands, no longer boasts the forty and fifty-pound fish it yielded in the nineteenth century, but has seen some good spring runs in recent years. The hydro ensures that there is always water.

When I lived in Ireland, though I caught the odd salmon, the most reliable sporting pleasure was to be had on the loughs of the West. Wild brown trout draw enthusiasts to Mayo and Connemara, Sligo and the midlands. There is a lot of good fishing - I remember exceptionally happy days boating on Lough Corrib, though I preferred to cast an artificial mayfly rather than use the preferred local technique of holding out a blowline.

In August and September there can be good grilse and seatrout fishing in the smaller south-western rivers, at fisheries such as Costelloe and Fermoyle. There, one is chiefly dependent on spates, so it is essential to have a trout rod handy, to fill arid sunlit days.

Fishermen in Ireland learn that exclusivity on the water is sometimes hard to come by but Roxtons always make sure that your water is yours and yours alone. Some rivers are showing remarkable salmon returns: 5000 are being taken annually from the Moy.

Being our European neighbours, travel to Ireland is an easy journey. It can be a pleasure to take ones own car across on the ferry with all the kit, and the dog if you like, rather than flying.
It is essential to be selective about where you go, because some rivers remain victims of devastating catch declines.

But if you take the right advice and get lucky, there is tremendous fun to be had.

Sir Max Hastings